Established in 2006, the Keystone State Education Coalition is a growing grass roots, non-partisan public education advocacy group of several hundred locally elected, volunteer school board members and administrators from school districts throughout Pennsylvania. Our mission is to evaluate, discuss and inform our boards, district constituents and legislators on legislative issues of common interest and to facilitate active engagement in public education advocacy.

“If the district fails to
meet certain scholastic performance goals, such as federal annual progress
targets, by the end for the 2014-15 school year, the plan calls for the schools
to be run by external management operations such as charter schools, cyber
charters, and education management companies.”

ChesterUpland:
Troubled Pa.
district faces school closings, cuts

Coverage
of the Chester Upland Recovery Plan by Kathy
Matheson of Associated Press, John Kopp of Delco Times, Rita Giordano of Philadelphia
Inquirer and Dave Davies of WHYY Newsworks

Tough fiscal choices ahead for Pittsburgh Public Schools

By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette November 14, 201212:10 am

About 10 years ago,
Pittsburgh Public Schools had a fund balance approaching $100 million.

Now -- despite closing
more than 30 schools, eliminating hundreds of jobs and increasing class sizes
-- officials have forecast the district will be broke in 2015 unless it finds a
way to further cut costs or increase revenues.

PA State House leadership to remain the same

By Laura Olson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette November 13, 20125:30 pm

HARRISBURG -- Legislators from
western Pennsylvania
again will lead both parties in the state House of Representatives. State lawmakers have returned to session this
week to select their caucus leaders for next session and to bid farewell to
some departing politicians. While the
legislative session does not officially expire until Nov. 30, top lawmakers
announced earlier this fall that they would not hold any post-election votes.

Education Voters PA: We have a reason to
celebrate!

Education Voters PA Blog TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

This election was an important one with a lot at
stake. These past two years, education has faced a lot of challenges: the
loss of crucial educational programs, drastic budget cuts, attempts to
undermine public schools through privatization and diverting funds to other
programs – even the very idea that every child deserves a free and appropriate
education. On Tuesday, voters across the Commonwealth made it clear that
they want every kid in every community to have an opportunity to
learn. More and more, we are making education a top tier voting
issue!

Education Voters Action Fund is proud to
announce that, as of this morning, 20 of our 28 endorsed candidates have won,
with 2 races still being resolved

Donna Cooper, who was Gov. Rendell's policy chief for eight years and who
has experience in both city government and the advocacy world, has been named the new executive director of Public Citizens
for Children and Youth.

Cooper will succeed Shelly Yanoff, who is stepping down after leading the
group for 26 years.

Donna Cooper, formerly a top aide to Gov. Rendell, said she would draw on
the many political contacts she has made throughout the region in her new role
as head of a leading local youth advocacy agency.

“The federal government should call for the creation of a
comprehensive support systems around schools in low-income communities to
address issues such as safety, health, nutrition, and counseling. This should
include the expansion of preschool and after-school programs and extended learning
opportunities during the summer. Many of these ideas were included in the Obama
administration's Promise Neighborhood program, but the $60 million allocated in
2012 to fund the initiative was insufficient to meet the overwhelming number of
applications that were received. Instead of relying exclusively on federal
funds, local communities should be encouraged to develop public-private
partnerships so that the support systems can be developed and sustained without
ongoing federal support. “

Time to Put Forward a New Reform Agenda

…..if we want the Obama administration to rethink its policies and adopt
a broader reform strategy we will have to move quickly to mobilize parents,
teachers' unions, and community organizations around a broad vision for change.
Such a vision must go well beyond a critique of No Child Left Behind and Race
for the Top, and it certainly has to do more than assert that poverty is the
real problem.

Enrollment in Charter Schools Is Increasing

Althoughcharter
schoolsengender fierce
debate — most recently over ballot measures in Georgia
and WashingtonState — their ranks are growing rapidly,
according to a new report. Between 2010-11 and 2011-12, the number of students
in charter schools increased close to 13 percent, to just over two million.

TheNational
Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a nonprofit advocacy group,
released the report on Wednesday. It showed that in some cities, charter
schools — which are publicly financed but privately operated — enroll a
significant proportion of public school students.

“Gates, who does live there, donated more
than $3 million to the cause. Alice Walton of Walmart Stores Inc. fame, who,
unlike Gates, doesn’t live in the state, gave a total of $1.7 million.”

WashingtonState to allow charter
schools after billionaire-backed initiative squeaks through

Washington
becomes the 42nd state to allow public charter schools to open now that
ballot Initiative 1240 has passed, apparently by about 1 percentage point
— this after a group of billionaires, including Bill Gates,donated more than $10 millionto get it pushed through.

There's still time to register for the Pittsburgh school library
briefing on November 15th!

Join the EducationLawCenter, the Health Sciences Library
Consortium, and the PA School Librarians Association for the release of
findings of the Pennsylvania
school library impact study on student achievement, and learn about the
investments in school library programs needed to prepare 21st-century learners:

Why Investing in Early Education Matters, Even in These Difficult
Economic Times - "Erie Region Breakfast
Series"Monday, November
19, 2012

Continental Breakfast
- 8:00 a.m. Program - 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

AmbassadorCenter
(I-90 & Peach Streets in Erie, next to the Courtyard
by Marriott)
Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children
and The Education Policy and LeadershipCenter

Share school
district successes and challenges in supporting quality learning experiences.
Hear from local school districts and early learning providers about how
they have worked together to maintain early learning as an integral part of the
school districts' overall goals. Learn how quality early learning can
contribute positively to a community's economic success.

Share it

About Me

Mark Twain: "God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board."
--------------------------------
School Director, School District of Haverford Township, since 1999;
Chairman, Delaware County School Boards Legislative Council;
Founder and Co-Chair, Southeastern Pennsylvania School Districts’ Education Coalition/Keystone State Education Coalition, Board of Directors, PA School Boards Assocation
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If you have any feedback or links to articles that might be a good fit on this blog please email me at lawrenceafeinberg@gmail.com
Thanks!